


Home for the Holidays

by LadyKeren



Category: Michael Jackson (Musician)
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-10 01:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4371188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKeren/pseuds/LadyKeren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael has a quiet Christmas with his children and Lissie, and they reflect on some stuff--follow up to my novel Unwavering Support.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: I am not making any money off of Michael Jackson or his friends and family. This fic is a holiday one-shot and a follow-up to “Unwavering Support”. I suggest you read that one before reading this to familiarize yourself with all the OCs and events or you will be confused. Rated PG. No rude comments are welcome.

Alyssa had just finished tidying up her room and was now lying on her bed, reading a book. She had decided she wanted some “me” time while she waited for her friend Shannon to arrive. Jenny and Stacey were also coming, but not until later that afternoon. Aside from some of Lissie’s closest friends visiting, it was meant to be a quiet Christmas gathering, just her, Michael and his three children. Latoya and Janet were not able to come, so they had sent the presents they had for Michael’s children the day before. Having a quiet Christmas was fine with the young woman as she didn’t feel like being surrounded by lots of people that day. Initially Mr. and Mrs. Churchill had also been invited but they were unable to come as they were presently visiting their relatives in Illinois for the holidays. Thinking of the Churchills made Alyssa think of her dear friend Abby, who had passed away 4 months earlier from Lupus SLE complications.

Lissie tossed the novel aside and grabbed the picture frame from her tall dresser, which contained a photo of her and Abby taken on the night of the Lupus Awareness gala just a couple of weeks after they had first met. That was the healthiest she had seen the young teen from the amount of time they had known each other. _‘Oh Abby, I wish you were here with me right now…I miss you sooo much. Although it has been 4 months since your death it still feels like it happened yesterday…so surreal.’_ A tear rolled down her cheek and hit the picture. She placed the picture frame back on her bureau before she started to cry herself silly. She didn’t want one of the few ways she had to remember Abby by to end up a soggy mess.

 _‘Look at me. I am so depressed on my most favorite holiday ever.’_ Lissie went inside her bathroom and washed her face. _‘I imagine Michael and his children are wondering what I’m up to right about now. I’d better go check on them. I have had enough time alone, and I want to have some time with him and the children before Shannon comes.’_ She especially hoped Michael was feeling all right. The previous day, he had been having a difficult time with his osteoarthritis. It had been so bad that she had to take a chance and give him a massage, although she was not very good at them. In spite of that, she had managed to ease the pain and discomfort a bit. She studied herself in the mirror, decided she looked good enough, and ran downstairs.

Michael was sitting in the couch in the living room. His children snuggled next to him as he read the story, “A Christmas Carol” to them. They were merely killing time until Alyssa came, for the children didn’t want to open gifts or do any baking without her.

At that moment, Lissie entered the living room. She spent some time admiring the wreath that hung on the front door and the Christmas tree. It looked so bright and cheerful with all the decorations, lights and presents stacked underneath that for the moment, her heartache eased a bit. _‘Oh, I will never be able to thank Michael enough for this…although he still isn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of celebrating Christmas he is going all out for me and the children…sometimes I can’t believe how unselfish he is.’_ She spotted Michael and his children on the couch reading and stood close enough where she would be able to hear the story as well but not to the extent where they would be aware of her presence.

Michael was finishing off the story, where Ebenezer Scrooge just had a visit from the last ghost of Christmas past and finally decided he would change. Lissie stifled a giggle at that part as she was thinking about the different parodies of the story. She watched as Michael closed the book and placed it aside. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to beat up herself too much for not coming down right after she was done cleaning. She put on her best smile, which was merely a mask for how she was truly feeling at the moment. “Good morning everybody. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” answered Michael, smiling.

“Lissie!” Paris, Prince and Blanket got up off the couch and ran to the young woman, throwing their arms around her waist.

Lissie was so surprised she nearly fell over, but she managed to recover from the shock. “Well, that’s a real nice Christmas greeting.” She patted them on the backs a few times, and then stroked Blanket’s long dark hair, which made him giggle.

Lissie smiled—she was pleased to see how much the young boy had opened up to her during the course of the past seven months. _‘He definitely has come a long way.’_

“We thought you would never come down,” said Paris.

Lissie chuckled. It pleased her that the children enjoyed her company so much. “Well here I am. Didn’t mean to worry you all.” _‘Oops! I don’t want Michael to be left out.’_ She walked over to where Michael was sitting, bent over and gave him a hug, and then sat down next to him.

Michael looked up at his children. “Why don’t you see if Kai needs help with anything?”

Paris knew when her father said that, it meant he wanted some time with Lissie alone, and she was totally on board with the suggestion. She had wanted to see if the chef was ready to start baking the cookies and sweet potato pie, which they had previously been given the green light to do for desserts. “Okay, Daddy!” She lowered her voice and whispered to her brothers, “Come Blanket and Prince, let’s see if she will let us bake the cookies now.” She and the boys left the living room.

Lissie turned sideways to face the singer. _‘I’d better be quick and not let myself be distracted by those gorgeous brown eyes.’_ “How are you feeling today, Michael? Is your back still hurting?” She certainly hoped not, at least not as badly as it had been the previous day.

“It’s a little stiff, but otherwise, not too much.”

“Okay.” _‘I could live with that. Needless to say I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I show him the gift me, Paris, Prince and Blanket got for him in the den.’_

“Is everything all right with you?” asked Michael. “You seem very quiet and sad.” Not that he had ever known the 24 year old to be overly bubbly, but she was definitely more talkative than that.

 _‘Oh snap! He knows something is wrong. I should have known he would pick up on my mood.’_ As much as Lissie dreaded saying what was on her mind for fear of breaking down, she never dreamed of hiding her true feelings from Michael as he was very easy to talk to. She looked down at her hands, then up at him. “Not exactly.”

“What’s the matter?”

Lissie gave a sad sigh as she thought of how to string her words together. _‘I hope I can keep composed.I mean, Michael’s support is part of the reason I was able to move on as much as I have.’_ “I have been thinking about Abby a lot lately…I miss her so much. I am trying to be strong, but it really hurts.” She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Michael’s heart ached to see the young woman in distress. He put an arm around her. “I know it does, sweetie…it hurts me too. You are not weak, so don’t think for a minute that you are.”

“Oh Michael…” Lissie rested her head on Michael’s shoulder. Tears cascaded down her cheek and dropped onto the pop star’s red sweatshirt. _‘Oh no…great.’_ “Oops...I’m messing up your nice red sweater…I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. No need to be sorry.” Michael pulled out a handkerchief from his jeans pocket and wiped Lissie’s tears away.

“But then my tears will cause your sweatshirt to stink,” protested Lissie, sniffling.

“Please, don’t worry about it. I am here if you ever need a shoulder to cry on.”

Lissie managed a small smile. “Thank you, Michael.” Already she felt better. _‘It’s time for me to remember the happy times and not Abby’s suffering.’_ She decided to change the subject to something more pleasant. There was something she had been meaning to ask him but never got around to it. “I was wondering, ever since you had quit being a Jehovah’s Witness, you never thought about recording a Christmas album? A solo one, I mean.”

Michael wrinkled his brow in thought. “Yes I have, but I didn’t think my conscience would have allowed me to.”

“Gotcha.” Although it had been 22 years since Michael switched faiths, Lissie figured he felt he was still obligated to abide by at least one of the customs he had been raised to follow. She wasn’t sure what she would do if she were in his shoes, but she wouldn’t want to be a slave to such guilt. _‘I hope he will realize one day he had done nothing wrong.’_ “Well, thank you for planning this Christmas celebration for me and the children. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. The pleasure is all mine. You know, I just might record a Christmas album now that I am no longer touring.”

That made Lissie very happy although it was not a definite decision. She was even happier that Michael no longer had dealings with AEG as the stress in his life would hopefully become minimal. “I am sure you would do just great.” She imagined he would write some Christmas songs of his own.

“Thank you for your confidence. You have always been so supportive.”

“I love you very much.”

“I love you more.”

Just then, Lissie heard the sound of the doorbell ringing and the door opening, as well as some voices. She took a look at her watch. _‘Hmm…I wonder if that’s Shannon. She told me she was coming at eleven and it’s now eleven thirty. I know she is not exactly the most punctual person in the world but this is late, even for her.’_ She started to wonder if maybe something happened and Shannon had called her cell phone and she wasn’t able to hear it ringing. She was about to excuse herself and go check her phone when all of a sudden, Grace entered the living room.

“Miss Alyssa, are you expecting someone named Shannon?” asked the nanny.

Lissie’s worries faded. “Yes I am.”

“Well, she is here.”

“Thank you for letting me know that.” Lissie turned to Michael. “I’d better help Shannon get settled in, but I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. We will open presents soon.”

“Awesome!!” Lissie got up off the couch and exited the living room, following Grace. “So where is Shannon?”

“I have her waiting in the den.”

“Okay.” As Lissie followed the nanny to the den, she thought of how both she and Shannon had obstacles to deal with—Shannon with her recent divorce and Lissie being depressed over Abby’s death on and off which meant they would be able to comfort each other if necessary.

Lissie entered the den and saw her best friend sitting down, doing a crossword puzzle. Although Shannon was wearing jeans and a baggy shirt, she noticed that the young woman looked a bit thinner, which worried her as she was already thin enough, in her opinion.

Grace left the two alone to do their catching up.

Shannon heard the footsteps, looked up and saw that Lissie had come. She placed the pencil in her book and slipped it back into her purse. She stood up and strode over to the younger woman, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

“Oh, you finally got here!” As Lissie embraced her friend, she noticed how bony she had really gotten as a few of her bones were in danger of protruding. She was really tempted to yell at Shannon for not taking better care of herself, but she decided she would hear her out before jumping to conclusions.”Oh my, how skinny you’ve gotten,” she settled for saying, releasing her hold on the brunette.

Shannon gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I know. It’s a long story. I have a lot to fill you in on.”

“I’ll bet. I want to hear all about it. Let’s go upstairs.”

“Okay.” Shannon picked up her backpack, and she and Lissie left the den and headed upstairs together, into Lissie’s bedroom, leaving the door semi-open.

Shannon rested her backpack on the floor and sat on the bed. Lissie sat on the edge of the bed, facing her friend. She picked off a long black strand of hair that had gotten on her Christmas themed turtleneck sweater.

“I want you to know how much I appreciate Michael allowing me to spend the night here tonight, and thank _you_ for asking,” said Shannon, kicking off her shoes and sprawling on the bed.

“You’re more than welcome. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being all alone,” replied Lissie. “Say, what took you so long to get here this morning, hmmm?”

Shannon gave an apologetic look as she was reminded of her tardiness. It was a trait she sometimes hated about herself. “Tidying up my house took a bit longer than I thought it would, and I also had to drop my children off at my new boyfriends’ house.”

Lissie nodded, knowing Shannon would not have wanted to bring her sons over, and she didn’t blame her. The one time she did bring them, they had gotten so hyper that they knocked over one of the flower pots and nearly crashed into the piano. “So, how is your new relationship going? Enquiring minds want to know.”

“Awesome.” Shannon got a dreamy look on her face as she said, “He’s good with the children, and he’s very romantic. He was even angry when he heard my ex-husband had cheated on me, especially when he learned that it caused me to have trouble eating. His name is Daniel.”

“Aww, how sweet.” _‘At least I now know the cause of the weight loss.’_ Lissie understood Daniel’s anger as she herself hated cheaters, only she wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

“Yes. Meeting him has helped to return my self-esteem.” She shook her head, feeling so pathetic that she let herself go. “I hope Kai has made some nice desserts for after dinner. At this point I could use something that will fatten me up.”

“Oh yes. Pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, carrot cake and cookies, just to name a few of them.”

“Oh goody.” Shannon’s mouth was watering just thinking of the desserts. She then sat up and looked thoughtful. “Kai has made some vegan dishes for you, hasn’t she?”

“Yes she did. However, this is one of the occasions I will be cheating so she doesn’t have to do so much work. I won’t overdo it, though.”

“Oh no, of course not. It took you several years to get to the figure you are satisfied with.”

“Yes and it felt like an eternity.” Lissie pinched the bridge of her nose, as if to show how relieved she was that she finally succeeded in one of her goals. “You know, I’m glad you moved to California.”

“Me too. We should definitely try to hang out more, though.”

“I agree.” Lissie felt bad that there were times she was busy during the days Shannon was free. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have a present for you.”

Shannon’s eyes widened. “You do?”

“Yup.” Lissie got up and walked over to her tall bureau, retrieving the wrapped gift. She handed it to Shannon.

“Thank you.” Shannon took the gift and fingered it for a bit. Based on its shape and how it felt, she was able to guess that it was a DVD. _‘I just wonder which one it is.’_ She tore off the gift-wrapping paper and tossed it onto the bed. Sure enough, it was a DVD...for one of the _‘This Is It’_ concerts. Her jaw dropped open.

Lissie chuckled to herself at the look on her best friend’s face. It was just the look she was expecting.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you soo much! Where did you get this? I was wondering if Michael would ever release it on DVD.”

“Yes, he intended to…it was released in stores earlier this month and was selling like hotcakes. I managed to get a copy for myself and one I meant to give to you as a gift if we were to see each other for Christmas.”

“Oh, I see.” Shannon wasn’t surprised that the DVD sold as quickly as it did. “You were lucky enough to get two of the copies. Thanks again.”

“No problem.”

“Which reminds me, I have a gift for you as well.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” answered Shannon, holding back a laugh at how surprised Lissie seemed. “Did you really think I was gonna let this Christmas go by without giving you anything?”

Lissie looked a bit sheepish. “No, I guess not.”

“Good.” Shannon grabbed her knapsack, reached inside and pulled out a small package, handing it to Lissie. It was thicker than the gift she had gotten from the younger woman, but a bit smaller.

“Thank you.” _‘This feels like a book of some sort...let’s see if I’m right.’_ Lissie ripped off the paper. Inside was a book—Michael’s book of poems _‘Dancing the Dream’ Michael Jackson_.’ She had made it a birthday gift she would treat herself to the following year, and she was delighted to see that now she wouldn’t have to. She placed the book on the bed and threw her arms around Shannon. “Oh thank you so much! How did you know I wanted this?”

Shannon grinned, glad to know her best friend liked her gift. “My intuition.”

“Wow, you’re really something, you know that?”

“I take that as a compliment.”

“It is.” Lissie looked at the mess made of the torn wrapping paper on her bed and frowned. _‘Oh no, I’d better get this cleaned up.’_ She gathered the shreds of paper from both her and Shannon’s gifts, crumpled each piece into one huge ball and tossed it in the trash. Just as she was doing that, she heard a tapping on her bedroom door. “Yes? Who is it?”

“It’s me, Prince.”

“Come on in,” said Lissie, opening the door a bit more. Prince entered the room. “What’s up, Prince?”

“Daddy wanted me to tell you guys it’s time to open presents now, but we’ll take a picture first,” said the young boy.

Shannon looked slightly taken aback. Not because of the present opening, as it was one of her favorite things about Christmas day. It was the idea of having her picture taken. _‘I look too horrible to be in any pictures...but it would be rude of me to decline.’_

Lissie looked down at the turtleneck sweater and blue jeans she was wearing. _‘Hmm, I wonder if I should change into something more formal. But then Michael would have told Prince to make sure we put on our best clothing.’_ “Okay. We’ll be right down.”

“Okay. Meet us in the living room in front of the fireplace.” Prince exited the room.

Once Prince was gone, Lissie turned to face her friend, whose facial expression still looked pained. “Shannon, what’s wrong?” she inquired, worried.

“I look terrible.”

“No, you don’t. You look fine. This isn’t a formal portrait.”

Shannon looked a tad less worried as her friend had a point. “I know, but…you look way better than me. My hair is a mess.”

Lissie gave her friend a funny look as she said, “Oh Shannon, you’re exaggerating. Your hair looks great. Besides, Michael isn’t bothered by what you’re wearing. Just smile your best. Now let’s go. I imagine Michael and his children must be waiting for us downstairs. “

“Okay…” Shannon still wasn’t so sure, but she realized there was no point in arguing. She slipped on her moccasins whilst Lissie gave her hair a quick brushing. That done, they went back downstairs, into the living room where Prince had said to be.

Michael and his children were gathering by the Christmas tree, in front of the large sofa.

 _‘Phew…it looks like Shannon and I have arrived right in the nick of time. Thought trying to convince Shannon not to be such a wreck would have kept them waiting.’_ “By the Christmas tree is the perfect place to take a picture, isn’t it?”

“It sure is.”

 _‘Oh I wish Shannon would just relax.’_ Lissie watched as Bill positioned Prince, Paris and Blanket to stand in front of their father. He also made sure they were standing directly in front of the Christmas tree. “Shannon, let’s go. They probably think we’re not ready yet,” she said in a loud whisper, to her friend.

“Okay,” Shannon whispered back. She and Lissie hurried over to the tree, and stood on either side of the pop superstar, behind the children. “We’re here! Sorry if we kept you waiting.”

“No, you two are just in time,” said Bill. He moved Michael’s children back slightly so everyone would be close together. He took out his camera. “All right, Mr. Jackson, place your arms around the two young women on each side of you.”

Michael draped his arms around both Lissie and Shannon, and they did the same to him despite the fact that they were both close to half a foot shorter than he was.

“All right, now everyone look directly at the lit fireplace,” instructed Bill.

Lissie, Shannon, Michael and his children looked straight ahead at the burning fire, smiling their best smiles. Shannon’s smile was a bit forced as she still didn’t feel quite comfortable. Bill held up the camera in a way so that everyone would be featured in the picture, and clicked the shutter button. He looked at the likeness of the image. It was decent, but not what he had in mind. “One more.” He held up the camera and pressed the shutter button again. He looked at the likeness of that one and there was a slight improvement. “Okay. Good.” He left the living room.

Alyssa and Shannon sat on the couch to wait for when Michael would give the signal to open the gifts.

“Daddy, may we open our presents now?” asked Blanket as he and his elder siblings moved away from the tree and by the couch.

“Pretty please?” added Paris.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see what I got,” Prince agreed.

Michael studied his children. They were always eager to open gifts on Christmas day, and while he didn’t blame them, sometimes they got caught up in their excitement and he didn’t want them to ever forget the true meaning of Christmas. “Not just yet.”

“Okay.” It was all they could do not to give disappointed sighs, but they were used to it by now, and knew there was no point in questioning him.

“Remember what Christmas is truly about?”

“Peace, joy, goodwill and about Jesus,” answered Paris, her brothers slowly joining in.

“Very good,” said the singer. “I don’t want you to ever forget that.”

Lissie and Shannon smiled at this. It was always nice for them to watch the Jacksons bond together.

“And what would you like for the future?” Michael asked.

“I want to create films alongside with you,” answered Prince.

“I wanna be a singer and an actress,” answered Paris.

“I want to sing and dance like you, Daddy,” answered Blanket.

 _‘I can definitely see him being a singer in the future,’_ thought Lissie, playing with her hair.

Prince thought of how much he and his siblings had been sheltered and how lately they were gradually given more freedom though the protection was still there. He appreciated it, but he wanted to be able to play with children his age that were non-family members. “Dad? Would it be possible for me to start going to regular school next year?”

“Yeah, me too,” said Paris.

Before Michael could answer, Prince shot his sister a disapproving look. “You are such a copycat!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Michael wearily rubbed his forehead. He always hated when his children argued. If he let them, they would argue until he felt a migraine coming on. “Now you two, that’s not the way to show holiday spirit,” he gently scolded his oldest children.

The bickering instantly stopped. “Sorry, Daddy,” Paris and Prince both said in meek voices.

“It’s all right.” Regarding the possibility of the children attending public or private school, Michael knew he had to let go at some point and felt it would be good for them to learn to socialize, but he still had his doubts about it. He was worried about them being labeled with the nickname he most despised and paparazzi hounding them. “I will have to think about it.”

“Okay.” It was not the answer Prince was hoping for, but he thought it was better than a flat out no.

“As for your other wishes, believe in yourselves and they will come true, and remember what I taught you,” continued Michael.

“Yes, Daddy,” said Paris.

“Good.” Michael turned from his children, to see if Lissie was still in the living room. Luckily, she was. “How about you, Lissie? Is there anything you would most like to happen?”

 _‘Oh gee...he’s asking me about my wishes...that’s such a hard question, considering the possibilities.’_ Lissie crossed her legs and tapped her chin, trying to think. Most of her wishes had already come true, like being able to meet Michael and tell him how much she supported him, as well as his recovery from the horrible accident that could have turned fatal…which reminded her of a possible thing she could want. “I just wish all of you good health, a peaceful life and for my bond with you to become even stronger. You are very important to me.” She knew Michael’s health would never be perfect given the two autoimmune diseases he had to manage, on top of his severe arthritis, but as long as he could keep them under control, she could live with that.

“Oh, Lissie…” Michael thought it would be real nice if he could live in peace, but he wasn’t sure if it would ever happen, even if he made the decision to leave the entertainment business for good. But her last statement touched his heart and brought tears to his eyes. “You are important to me as well.”

In response, Alyssa got up from her spot, walked over to Michael and wrapped her arms around him. She had to say, of all the good things that happened after she met him, her favorite thing about the year was befriending the man behind the music.

 

END

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to Prince, Paris and Blanket as well as the other fans! Merry Christmas to you all!!


End file.
